Thursday, February 5, 2015

I am in the bush at the
moment and was in process of putting together a blog about the sounds I hear
every morning when I wake up. Then
I read a news report about a man whose name is Eugene de Kock, known widely as
Prime Evil.

He was serving a 212-year prison
sentence - until a few days ago, when he was granted parole.

My initial reaction was
disgust. Everything about De Kock
and his crimes is sickening. Let
me explain.

Apparently he was a quiet
boy, who loved music. He was “not
a violent person” said his brother, Vossie. Yeah, yeah!

After school he tried to
join the South African military a couple of times, but was rejected for various
physical reasons – a stutter on one occasion, and poor eyesight on
another. Undaunted, he joined the
South African Police and was involved in the Rhodesian Civil War, attempting to
prevent incursions into South Africa by members of the black nationalist
forces.

In 1979, he co-founded an
organisation called Koevoet, whose purpose was to prevent incursions into South
West Africa (now Namibia), which South Africa administered, by members of the
South West Africa Freedom Party, which was trying to gain self-determination
for the country. They were based in Angola.

This was also at
the time South Africa was assisting the National Union for the Total Independence
of Angola (UNITA) in the Angolan civil war. South African forces were heavily
involved in that conflict.

Koevoet rapidly gained a
reputation for its brutal methods and high kill rate.

In 1983, De Kock joined a South
African Police counter-insurgency group headquartered at a farm called
Vlakplaas, near Pretoria. In 1985, he was promoted to head the unit.
The purpose of the unit at Vlakplaas was to hunt down and kill opponents
of apartheid - which he did most effectively.

Appearing before the Truth
and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), after the government became democratic in 1994, he admitted to a large number of murders
and other crimes and, per the charter of the commission, was pardoned.

Eugene de Kock

Eugene de Kock at Truth and Reconciliation Commission

Eugene de Kock

However, the TRC’s charter
was only to hear crimes with a political background. So De Kock was then tried for eighty-nine crimes against
humanity, including murder, attempted murder, conspiracy to murder, illegal
possession of firearms, and sixty-three counts of fraud. In 1996, he was convicted and sentenced
to 212 years in jail.

Last Friday, he was paroled
to very mixed reactions. Justice
Minister, Michael Masutha, said that it was time to bury the past. He also said that De Kock would
cooperate in finding the remains of many of his victims. Others felt that his crimes had been so
heinous that he should be kept inside for the full term of his sentence.

Notably, but not really
surprising to those who know him, Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, who led the TRC, said the
release of De Kock represented a milestone on South Africa’s road to
reconciliation and healing.

My two heroes

“I
pray that those whom he hurt,” Archbishop Tutu said, “those from whom he took
loved ones, will find the power within them to forgive him. Forgiving is
empowering for the forgiver and the forgiven – and for all the people around
them. But we can’t be glib about
it; it’s not easy.

“De
Kock deserves to be released on the basis that he has served a relatively
lengthy term of imprisonment, he has apologised to and sought the forgiveness
of many of his victims, and he has for some time given all the appearance (from
what we have seen) of being ready for rehabilitation.

“As
human beings we have unique capacities to reconcile, to forgive, to move on and
to love again. While many may not
welcome De Kock back into society with open arms, the fact that we have allowed
for his return is to our collective credit, as people and as a nation.”

I
admire Bishop Tutu immensely and found myself challenged by his belief in
forgiveness for De Kock. Yet I
have no doubt that the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was one of the most civilised
events in history and was fundamental to the fact that South Africa survived an
amazing transition. On the other
hand, De Kock was Evil personified.
I don’t believe in the death penalty, but a life in prison was tame
compared to what he did to others.

So
I find myself very conflicted by the parole. Initially I was dead against it, but I am also moved by
Bishop Tut’s reasoning and compassion.

So what do you, dear
readers, think of the parole? Where
do you fall on the compassion index for crimes in extremis?

Stan – Thursday

PS. I just came upon a report in Times
Live, which suggests that the whole issue may not be over. Apparently, De Kock was involved in
starting two businesses while in prison, as well as serving as a director of
several others started before he went to jail.

According
to James Selfie of the opposition Democratic Alliance party, "You
are not allowed to conduct any form of remunerated activity while serving a
prison sentence. You cannot go
into business.”

Contravention
of this could lead to a revocation of parole as happened in another famous case
– that of the Waterkloof Four.

12 comments:

I admire the bishop's stance, but don't know if I would have the capacity to forgive that kind of carnage. Also, how does one start a business while in prison? It almost sounds as if I wanted to be a career criminal South Africa would be the place to go for opportunity. In prison or out doesn't seem to matter.

I, too, believe the death penalty is wrong. However, I do believe that these kinds of crimes are deserving of life in prison WITHOUT parole or pardon. Those murdered cannot be brought back, and neither should be the murderer, reformed or not. If found innocent by later evidence, fine, but otherwise, don't just throw away or lose the key, melt the damn thing down.

Hi Peter: It looks as though all the paintings (or lithographs) are by Bushman (Khoi-San), probably from an art co-op, such as the Kuru Project, in the Ghanzi or D’kar areas of west Botswana. Some of the works are obviously very commercial - eg the Big Five - but if the purpose is to raise money, who cares. A lot of the other pieces are typically of Bushman style, which I like, although I don't fancy most of the pieces here. The one I do like is #8 of 18.

The older I get the more I realize how many things in this world make so little sense to me. Perhaps it's differing frames of reference (Old Testament v. New Testament) or just a more humane view on crime and punishment. But then I see what ISIS did to the Jordanian pilot, and wonder what sort of punishment should fall upon those who committed that heinous act were any to be captured, tried, and convicted.

The older I get the more I realize how many things in this world make so little sense to me. Perhaps it's differing frames of reference (Old Testament v. New Testament) or just a more humane view on crime and punishment. But then I see what ISIS did to the Jordanian pilot, and wonder what sort of punishment should fall upon those who committed that heinous act were any to be captured, tried, and convicted.

Stan, as I read the facts of the case, I found myself thinking what a travesty it was to release him. But Tutu's words won me over. He calls us to a higher way. I am grateful the human race produces such thinking. But I was taught as a child to believe not only in redemption, but also in penance. Given his focus on business while in prison, it looks to me that de Kock is not truly sorry, or not sorry enough. Now if he had decided, instead of trying to make himself rich, to spend the rest of his days taking care of babies with AIDS, I would believe he was truly sorry for his heinous crimes. I can't help hoping that he goes back to jail.

I agree with you on the death penalty, was recently reminded of hos many thousands were executed by the apartheid government, and then the voice of reason took hold then the new ANC-led government abolished this heinous punishment when it took office.

And it set up the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which was very mild in its punishments. However, as Nelson Mandela's character says in the wonderful movie, "invictus," when asked why he took the former apartheid security forces into his security detail, "I did it to prevent a civil war."

The Commission may have been held for the same reasons.

However, I don't believe in releasing someone who really acted like a Nazi henchman, killing people right and left, with no human morality. He does not seem repentant or concerned about those he killed or their loved ones.

I don't think any Nazi war criminals should have ever been let out of jail. What is the imprisonment time for committing genocide? This guy belongs in that category.

I respect Desmond Tutu a great deal and I understand how he feels. And I ultimately think it's up to the people of South Africa who were so oppressed under the apartheid regime. It's their choice, not mine. What do they think? People who lost loved ones or were tortured and/or imprisoned.